Brighton vs Arsenal: Match Preview

If European Football is the goal for the remainder of Arsenal’s season, they’ll need to produce a run of wins before they face the likes of Wolves, Leicester, Spurs and Liverpool in July – and it will need to start during Saturday’s trip to the Amex.

During the trip to Brighton on Saturday, the gunners will understand the importance of returning to London with all three points if they have any chance of securing a place in European football next season. Whether it’s Champions League or Europa League, Mikel Arteta has already made it crystal clear that financially, Arsenal football club need to be playing in a European competition if they want to get the club back to the level it is supposed to be.

Sitting nine points behind Chelsea in fourth place and five points behind Manchester United in fifth, Arsenal find themselves needing the best possible outcomes in their remaining nine Premier League games. Arsenal have the opportunity to close the gap on their rivals this weekend, with Manchester United and Tottenham going head-to-head on Friday night.

During Arsenal’s set back against Mikel Arteta’s former club City on Wednesday night, both Pablo Mari and Granit Xhaka were forced off early due to injuries and David Luiz’s red card means that he misses the next three Premier League games. Heres the latest team updates ahead of Brighton vs Arsenal:

Brighton

• Position: 15th
• P29 W6 D11 L12
• Form: DDDLD
• Injuries: None
• Suspensions: None

Arsenal

• Position: 9th
• P29 W9 D13 L7
• Form: DWWWL
• Injuries: Pablo Mari (Ankle), Granit Xhaka (Ankle), Lucas Torreira (Ankle), Calum Chambers (Knee), Cedric Soares (Face), Sokratis (Thigh)
• Suspensions: David Luiz

Predicted Line-Up (4-2-3-1)

After three months without a Premier League game, Arsenal returned to face Manchester City and Brighton within the space of three days, meaning that squad rotation would be vital in ensuring minimal injuries and best results for Mikel Arteta. The introduction of an extra two substitutions will relieve pressure ever so slightly, but we expect to see some big changes to the young Arsenal side that we saw at the Ethiad.

Goalkeeper: Bernd Leno

Defence: Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Kieran Tierney, Bukayo Saka

Defensive Midfield: Dani Ceballos, Matteo Guendouzi

Attacking Midfield: Nicolas Pepe, Mesut Ozil, Gabriel Martinelli

Forward: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang